Rebirth
by Whimsical Fool
Summary: Ever since she was young, Chrome had always considered herself a burden to the people around her. So when she is adopted into a new family, these people open up her perspective to a new horizon. Maybe she was not a burden but rather a gift waiting to be opened this entire time. AU
1. Dawn I

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own _Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_ in any shape or form.**

* * *

Her brother and she had always been together since the day she entered this world despite their two year difference. However that changed the moment her brother reached the tender age of ten.

Their biological parents had passed away in a car accident when she was six, but she did not find herself crying at the funeral neither did her brother.

Their parents had given most of their affection toward her brother while they barely gave any to her. Her brother was the firstborn son, so it was natural that they pushed most of their hopes and dreams onto the child to reach new heights that they have never ventured before, but they took it a step further. She, on the other hand, was born with weak lungs therefore a burden in their eyes. Needless to say, the couple was not parent material.

After the search for any remaining relatives willing to take the both of them in, results came in negative and the two siblings eventually landed up in the nearest orphanage located near the town of Namimori.

Children at the orphanage instantly took a liking to her brother since he always had something interesting to talk about despite the fact that that he hid his right eye underneath a medical patch. She just latched onto her brother's arm the entire time as if she was cowering from the world, afraid of rejection.

One time, a child had asked her brother why he wasted his time on her when she was boring. Her brother merely smiled and said that she was his reason for living, something the children and she could not understand at the time.

From then on, her brother spent more time with her, trying to make her smile and enjoy the simpler aspects of life while ignoring the whims of the other children. He had told her that he rather spend the rest of life with her than other people. She then found out that her brother saw people as pests and she was the only exception.

However, the more time her brother spent with her, it caused the other children to be jealous of her. Unlike her, they did not have someone to look out for them nor did they have someone to look up to. So when her brother was not at her side, the children would gang up on her and call her a burden to her brother, stating he was better off without her.

It had only been half a year later, but her brother was to be adopted by a couple while she remained. Her brother refused to be adopted, but the woman, who was going to adopt her brother, had pulled him aside and spoke to him. She did not know what the woman said to him, but she was surprised that her brother decided to leave the orphanage without her. For a moment, she wondered if her brother was finally going to toss her aside like the other children said he would. Instead of voicing her pain, she hugged her brother and held in the tears that were threatening to fall.

Barely a month had passed, but the young girl found out that without her brother, she was a magnet for misfortune. When her brother had left, the children pitied her and felt bad for treating her so poorly in the beginning, so they invited her to play with them. But when they did, they realized that in some way or another, someone ended up hurt to the point it scared them. In the end, the children stopped playing with her and just ignored her unless they wanted something.

When she turned seven, her affinity for bad luck reached its peak. In the event when she chased a cat into the middle of the street, a car collided into her body head-on. Her right eye was lost and was in urgent need of organs since several of her own were beyond repair.

But who would bother to save someone like her, a magnet for bad luck and a burden?

During her stay in the hospital, her brother and his family would try to visit every day. All they could do were comfort her and pay for her hospital bills which only piled guilt on her. They did not need to waste money on her when they could spend it for themselves. There was no need for them to come when they could this time to do something they wanted to. There was no need for them to do this, so why were they doing such a thing?

Her brother's family could not donate any organs because they were not a match. Not even her brother was a match. Apparently, her brother and she were half-siblings. It was no wonder that their parents started to grow distant when she was born.

The small girl wanted to give up and just sleep for all eternity. She did not want to be a burden anymore. She truly did not want to live anymore, but something held her back and told her to keep on fighting. That night she was weaving in and out of consciousness, a stranger had entered the room. She did not who the stranger was, but she knew that she saw her brother's silhouette as well as two others.

They were conversing about something and before she allowed sleep to take her, her brother had rushed to her side, grabbing a hold of her hand and mumbled something about someone coming forth to donate their organs. Before she closed her eyes, she could have sworn she felt someone run their fingers through her hair.

It had been a year since her hospitalization and she was still on the orphanage. Most of the children she knew were already gone, having been adopted. She was rather indifferent to the thought of someone adopting her. She stood out as a lonesome child; someone who did not smile often nor that air of innocence radiation off of her. In a way, she would be a hassle to raise. As a result, she ignored the bell that rang when the front door was open. No one was coming in to adopt her.

Day by day, she would watch a child being walked out that front door with a new parent, good-intentioned or not. She would hide behind the door frame of one of the inner rooms with a beaten stuffed owl in hand as she mutely waved goodbye to the child even if she was ignored. Deep down, she was jealous of them, but she would not voice her thoughts. Burdens did not have a voice.

* * *

"Dokuro Chrome-chan?"

The small girl peered up at the adult with her single eye, removing it from the book she was reading. The lone violet eye just stared at the woman, waiting for what she had to say. The girl's lips did not move nor did any other muscle. Her eye just resumed staring at the brunette woman, wondering which child she had to retrieve for the woman.

The woman just smiled at the girl as she bent down to the girl's level. Soft caramel brown eyes scanned the small girl before tucking her brown strands of hair behind hair before offering a hand to the young girl. "You're being adopted, dear."

Chrome blinked once and then twice in succession, trying to digest the words that came out of the woman's mouth. "U-Um, can you please repeat that?"

The woman merely smiled at the child's puzzlement. "You're being adopted, Chrome-chan." She waited for the girl to make a move and watched her as she slowly walked towards her. When the girl was within reach, the woman pulled her into her arms and gave her a hug. The small body in her arms started to tremble as incoherent words were muttered. The woman hugged the young girl closer when she heard a single phrase uttered.

"Thank you."

* * *

Chrome watched as the woman helped her pack her belongings into a duffel bag the woman had brought. She wanted to ask the woman what her name was, but the words refused to come out.

When the woman was done, she turned around to smile at the girl and was surprised to see the girl flushed with embarrassment. "Chrome-chan?"

"Um… M-May… I… n-name…." Chrome could only stutter those words before burying her head into her owl, trying to hide from her own incompetence.

The woman simply smiled at Chrome as she tossed the duffel bag strap over her shoulder and took Chrome's hand into her own. "Sawada Nana, but please call me, Maman."

The girl could only nod as she was let out of the orphanage through the front door. When she finally crossed those doors, she wondered if her brother felt the same as her when he left as if this was surreal, a dream she did not want to wake up from.

She soon found herself scrambling into the backseat of a car and instantly strapped the seatbelt over her body and her owl in the seat next to her.

Nana was about to ask Chrome who the owl was, but she decided to hold her tongue when she saw a glint of excitement swirling in the child's eye despite her facial expression.

During the car ride, Chrome gathered all her courage and decided to be the one to break the silence, wanting to ask the one question that was bothering her the entire time. "Um, M-Maman?"

Nana turned off the radio with one hand and peered into the rearview mirror to look at Chrome. "Yes, dear?"

"Why did you adopt me?" The question was soon followed by a blanket of tension and Chrome started to get scared. Did she ask something she was not supposed to ask?

Nana's eyes softened when she caught Chrome trembling in her seat in the mirror. She had to be honest with the girl. "Chrome-chan, you probably had your hopes up… but I'm not the person adopting you. It's my younger brother, Sawada Giotto."

"G-Giotto-san?" From the way Maman said her brother's name, she must be really close to him.

"Yes, Giotto is actually my younger step-brother, but he is still my brother nonetheless. Now that we're on the topic, do you want to know more about him, Chrome-chan?"

Chrome hesitated for moment, but it was a chance to learn about her new dad. "Y-Yes, please."

Nana giggled at the girl's politeness. Mukuro was spot on when he bragged about his sister at the dinner table. "Well, then… Giotto is a foreigner, an Italian, to be exact. But he does know Japanese and some other languages, if I remember right. Oh, you shouldn't take him as a person who's clueless or naïve, because he does know. He calls it his Hyper Intuition or something. Oh, and before I forget, he has an adorable son."

"G-Giotto-san has a s-son…?" Chrome started to tremble in her seat. What if her new brother did not like her? W-What if he saw her as a burden? Chrome quickly snapped out of her thoughts though when Nana resumed talking.

"Yes, Sawada Tsunayoshi, or Tsuna for short. My husband and I were unable to have a child together, so when Giotto's son was born, he decided to let me name him. I think of Tsu-kun as if he was my own child." Nana inwardly squealed at the memory when Tsuna accidentally called her Okaa-san. He was so cute when he was embarrassed.

After hearing that, Chrome looked out the window and wondered why someone like Giotto-san would want to adopt, to be exact, why would he want to adopt her, when he already had someone like Tsunayoshi-san. From the sounds of it, Tsunayoshi-san appeared to be a well-behaved son and well-liked. "So why me?"

For a moment, Nana went silent. She actually did not know why Giotto would choose Chrome, not some other child. "I'm afraid that's something you have to ask him yourself. But do take your time; I'm sure time will tell."

Chrome nodded halfheartedly as she resumed looking out the window. She was going to a new home. She was adopted into a new family. Everything was happening too fast. For a moment, she placed the brakes in her mind when she thought of her older brother. Did he know that she was adopted? Just thinking about it tired her out. Slowly, she allowed herself to succumb to sleep, her head hitting the side of the door every now and then.

* * *

"Maman, is this her?" The teen looked at Chrome before looking up at his aunt with curious eyes.

Nana nodded as she handed the duffel bag holding Chrome's belongings to her brother, who was waiting at the entrance. "From what I can tell, she's rather shy and introverted, but it seems like there's nothing we can do but nurture her as she slowly opens up on her own."

Giotto nodded as he watched his sister unbuckle the young girl. "Are you going to stay the night? I can get Tsunayoshi to prepare a room for you."

Nana looked down at her watch and then at her nephew. "Do you mind, Tsu-kun? I don't want to bother you when it's time for finals."

Tsuna shook his head as he slowly entered the car with one knee and his eyes softened at the sight of the owl next to Chrome. After unbuckling the owl, he placed the object on Chrome's body and softly chuckled to himself when the young girl unconsciously latched onto it. Carefully, he slipped his arms under the sleeping Chrome and carried her out of the car in a bridal style fashion. "No problem at all. Just let me place Chrome in her room."

Nana nodded and watched as the teenager slowly walked up the steps into the house with his new sister in tow. She smiled softly at the sight but when the teen was out of sight, the expression from her face fell as she pulled her brother aside. "Giotto."

The blond was startled at his sister's sudden strict tone but readjusted himself. "What's wrong?"

Nana sighed as she crossed her arms. "I'm simply worried. I know that you're now making enough money to support yourself, Tsu-kun, and even Chrome-chan, but the person I'm most worried about is Chrome-chan. I know that Tsu-kun understands that your job makes you stay away from home often, but he's not at the age to raise a child. He's only fourteen, barely an adult, while she's eight."

Giotto nodded in understanding as he leaned against the fence behind him. His career truly took up most of his time. For the majority, he was not home except for weekends and late nights. He rarely got any breaks, but deep down inside, he knew that he could do this. He truly did. He looked up at his sister with determined eyes, but he did not open his mouth when he realized that she was not referring his job but rather what happened in the past.

"Giotto, I know that you can make this work but remember this. If there ever comes a time where it becomes too much, do not, I repeat, do not take it out on the children. I know that being a parent is hard; being a single parent in even harder, so please do not hesitate to call me or Elena or someone. Just please try not to lose your cool again."

Giotto gripped his arm and nodded darkly. He remembered when he released his pent-up stress and it was at his son. It was as if a beast took control of his body and thoughts and just attacked the first thing that dared to come close. Luckily for him and his son, both men grew stronger and closer because of it. "I understand…"

Nana could not resist but give a tired smile at her brother's now pathetic form. At least it showed that he regretted his past actions. Taking in a deep breath, Nana playfully slapped the side of Giotto's arm, urging him to go into the house. "Well, I got that off of my chest, so let's go in and eat. It's been awhile since you ate some of my food, right?"

Giotto just stared as he trailed after his sister's form into the house before chuckling at how stupid he must have looked to her, muttering to himself, "Thank you."

Nana smiled to herself as she removed herself from the doorframe, hidden from her brother's view, as she headed into the kitchen. "Looking out for my siblings is what I do after all."

* * *

After Tsuna placed Chrome on her bed, he readjusted the sheets around her so she could be more comfortable. He smiled when he watched the girl snuggled closer to her owl in a more relaxed position. The brunet wished the small girl a good nap before closing the door behind him.

On his way to the guest room carrying a blanket and a towel, the brunet had questions forming in his mind. He was glad that there was an additional member in his family, but he was still worried. What if Chrome rejected him as a brother? What if she did not like him?

The brunet sighed to himself as he opened the door to his aunt's room and dropped the bundle in his arms onto the bed before plopping on the bed.

The question that bothered Tsuna the most was how his cousin was going to react when he finally met up with his sister.

His cousin was a peculiar person. The boy loved playing with people's mind and was never straight to the point.

When Tsuna met his cousin for the first time, he could not help but ask his uncle if he had a woman before his aunt. That earned him an earful from his uncle boasting that he would never cheat on the woman he wed, but that was probably because said woman was next to him. The resemblance was so uncanny that it was almost scary. His cousin was just as strange as his uncle to the point their laughs were almost the same.

Several attempted explanations later, Tsuna found out that his uncle was actually his cousin's uncle on his father's side. His uncle did not know he had a nephew because he did not get along with his brother and refused to have any contact with him. Because of that, his uncle failed to find out that his brother and his wife had passed away, leaving a pair of children behind.

When Tsuna tried to get acquainted with his cousin, his first impression of the boy was that he was a trickster, but Tsuna just went along with the boy's antics as long as it did not bring danger to anyone. However, that did not save Tsuna from the clutches of bullies and public embarrassment. One time, a prank somehow ended up with the police hot on their tails and Tsuna covered for his cousin, claiming that it was the brunet who put his cousin up to it. Due to that incident, Tsuna finally got along with his cousin and he did not mind babysitting the boy when his uncle or aunts were busy.

Whenever Tsuna was with Mukuro, his cousin would always bring up his sister in their conversations. The boy would always say something like how he and his sister should have been born as twins, so he could share half of her burdens, or that fact that his sister was an angel compared to the pests that gathered around him every day at school. Tsuna could never comprehend why his cousin felt like he had the need to exaggerate, but the brunet knew that Mukuro must have missed his sister. One time, Tsuna made a remark that Mukuro must have valued his sister a lot to talk about her so much, that it left the boy in a blushing mess sputtering incoherent comebacks, much to the brunet's amusement.

It had been two months since he last spoke with his cousin. It was as if Mukuro decided to distant himself from the brunet.

His father had invited over his cousin's family for dinner once, with the exception of Maman, since she was having her anniversary dinner with her husband. It was then his father announced that he was going to adopt Chrome into the family. The first thing Tsuna did was look at Mukuro, expecting the boy to have a joyous reaction, but the expression on the boy's face told otherwise.

It was a mixture of joy, regret, and something close to fear. Mukuro excused himself from the table with Tsuna hot on his trail. When the brunet confronted his cousin on his reaction, the boy lashed out on him like he did when they first met. Instead of running away and hiding behind his father during their first meeting, Tsuna grabbed the boy's arms and pulled him into a hug. Despite Mukuro's desperate struggles, Tsuna just held on until the boy finally cried in his arms. The brunet remained quiet; he had an idea why Mukuro reacted so poorly to the news. He was scared of being rejected by the person he valued with all his life.

When Tsuna entered the dining room, supporting a bruise around his eye, with a sleeping tear-stained Mukuro on his back, his uncle rushed to his side and took Mukuro into his arms. He quietly thanked Tsuna for taking care of Mukuro and informed Tsuna's father that they were going to give Mukuro time before meeting with Chrome. His aunt muttered a quick farewell before tending to her child's side.

Two months… it had been two months since then. A lot could happen in two months. Tsuna shook his head back and forth to rid of his worrisome thoughts and got off the bed, proceeding to fix up the room before heading downstairs.

When the brunet reached the kitchen, a sweet aroma was wafting in the air. It was always cheerful occasion when his aunt cooked. "I'm done setting up your room, Maman. It's the same room as always."

Nana turned around and smiled at her nephew. "Thank you, Tsu-kun. If it's no hassle, could you be a dear and set the table for me? I would have done it, but as you can see, my hands are kind of full."

The brunet chuckled before giving his aunt a quick hug. "Anything in return for the great food you make."

Nana giggled at her nephew's response and gave the brunet a quick peck on the forehead, making him squirm with embarrassment but he did not refuse her affection.

Tsuna walked over the cupboards and pulled out any necessary plates and bowls and settled them on the table before moving on to the drawer to get eating utensils. After nodding at his accomplishment, Tsuna walked over the refrigerator and poured two cups of tea, one for Maman when she was done cooking and the other for his father. When the brunet placed the pitcher of iced tea back into the fridge, he pulled out a carton of orange juice and hoped Chrome did not mind drinking it during dinner. "I left your drink on the table, Maman, I'm going to go get Papa and Chrome down for dinner."

Nana hummed in agreement and watched as the brunet left the room. Nana bitterly smiled to herself and wondered if she was wrong when she said that Tsuna was not an adult. It seemed like the brunet grew up too fast when his mother passed away. Her eyes wandered to the picture frame sitting innocently on the kitchen counter. It consisted of a younger Giotto standing under a tree with his eyes gazing at the woman sitting down with a sleeping baby Tsuna in her arms. "Sometimes I think a piece of Tsu-kun was lost when you died, Shiori-san..."

* * *

Tsuna knocked on his father's door, waiting for a response. When he heard none, the brunet silently apologized for intruding and noticed his father was into his work. Tsuna quietly made his way over to the blond and peered over his father's shoulder, wondering what caught his attention. "Alaude-san must be working you pretty hard."

Giotto stiffened when he heard his son's voice but quickly relaxed afterwards. He should really take a break from work sometimes. The blond nodded before leaning back in his seat as he removed his glasses, pinching his nose bridge in the process. "He really loves this town. I'm just surprised that I was promoted over him. Because of that, he's been pressuring me to take on these ridiculous cases even though I'm supposed to be his superior."

Tsuna chuckled to himself. That was really like Alaude-san. If he was not picked, then he would put down his pride to get the help of another to protect what he loved. "If Alaude-san was promoted, don't you think he would abuse his power basing it on his own sense of justice?"

Giotto groaned at the remark. His friend had an abnormal sense of justice that involved a lot of violence and tormenting criminals which also included "reforming" them. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Dinner's ready. If there's nothing else, then I'm going to go wake up Chrome."

Sighing, Giotto motioned his son to come near him. "I need to talk to you about Chrome."

The brunet's eyes darkened for a moment but he waited for his father to continue. "You're not regretting your decision, are you?"

The blond blinked a couple of times before shaking his head repeatedly. "What? Gracious no. If I was not serious, then I would not have brought it for discussion."

The brunet smiled at his father's reaction but he wondered what he wanted to talk about it. "So what is it?"

"I don't want Chrome going through the same thing you did with me during that time… Your aunt scolded me about it before we entered the house if you didn't know. Anyway, if I do ever act like that again, promise me that you'll hit me as hard as you can. Don't even try to talk me out of it, just hit me. Knock me out if you have to prevent me from hurting Chrome."

Chocolate brown eyes widened before narrowing. "So you're giving me permission to deck you."

Giotto blinked a couple of times before agreeing. "That was not quite the reaction I was aiming for but I supposed so…" The blonde froze when he saw an eerie smile appear on his son's face, realizing that he should have phrased his words better. "You know what, knocking me out is such an exaggeration. Just hit me as hard as you can…"

"Papa, you taught to never go back on your words. I promise you that if you ever hurt Chrome, I'll bring hell on you like there's no tomorrow as her brother. Now please excuse me, I have to go wake up Chrome."

Giotto gulped as he felt a shiver go down his spine when his son left. He was starting to regret allowing Reborn to babysit his son. "Shiori, please watch over Tsunayoshi, so he doesn't become a spawn of the devil…"

* * *

"Chrome, are you awake?"

The small girl murmured something as she got up, rubbing one of her eyes with the palm of her hand. She blinked once and then twice before realizing that there was someone on the bed beside her. "A-Ah, I'm sorry."

The brunet chuckled as he watched her trying to focus. "It's fine. I should be the one apologizing. It looked like you were enjoying your nap. Um, is it alright if I call you Chrome?"

Chrome blushed but slowly nodded. She tried to guess who the person was and realized that he must be her new brother. "T-Tsunayoshi-san?" To her surprise, he shook her head. She was about to apologize, but Tsuna stopped her.

"Ah, please don't call me that. When adults call me that, I don't mind, but when other people say that, it feels weird…" He noticed that Chrome looked as if she offended him which made the brunet fret over her as he scratched the back of his neck, trying to think of a way out of it. "Y-You can call me Tsuna if you want, but if you want to call me Tsunayoshi-san, I don't mind. I-It'll take some time getting used to, but I won't mind." But when Tsuna exited his state of panic, he realized that Chrome's attention was elsewhere, much to his amusement. "Did something catch your interest?"

Chrome mutely nodded as she looked around the room she was sleeping in, wondering if this was her room. Even if the moonlight was pale, it seemed like the walls were a light shade of purple with white vertical lines running diagonally. "I like the color purple..."

"Papa didn't know what color to paint the room, so I had to ask Mukuro. Well, Elena-san had to ask Mukuro."

Chrome's attention was instantly diverted to Tsuna as she scrambled out of her sheets and onto his lap, keenly looking up at him. "You know Nii-sama? Is he doing well? D-Does he still remember me?" Her eyes were swirling with curiosity as she leaned closer to Tsuna for answers.

The brunet was taken aback by his sister's sudden outburst but nodded. She must have been worried about Mukuro the entire time when they were apart. Tsuna patted her on the head as she blushed in realization of her actions. "Mukuro is my cousin. I haven't spoken to him in a while, but he's doing fine. And yes, Mukuro does remember you. Whenever we're together, he never stops talking about you."

"I see… Nii-sama still remembers me." A small smile appeared on Chrome's face as she pulled herself away from Tsuna.

In an instant, Tsuna made a promise that he would get Chrome to smile more. She looked really adorable when she smiled. No wonder Mukuro called her an angel. He had to text Mukuro soon to inform him about what his sister said about him, which should reassure him. The brunet looked at his sister for a moment and chocolate brown eyes suddenly turned mischievous.

Chrome noticed something was amiss when her brother gave her a look. Before she knew what was happening, a small squeal escaped her mouth as she clung onto whatever was holding her tightly. When she opened her eye, she realized that Tsuna was carrying her.

Tsuna did not expect such a reaction from Chrome, so when he was about to apologize for scaring her, the brunet could not help but chuckle at her adorable expression. "I-I'm sorry, Chrome. I didn't mean to scare you that much."

Chrome could not understand why the brunet thought it was a good idea to scare her, but his chuckle was rather soothing to her ears. She soon found her smiling despite her scare. "Are we going somewhere?"

Tsuna nodded as he placed Chrome back onto the bed and ushered her to climb on his back. "We're going to eat some of Maman's food. From experience, I can tell you that it's something you have to try." When Chrome was settled on his back, Tsuna stood up and left through the opened door. As Tsuna walked down the stairs, he tightened his hold on Chrome, so she would not fall off.

Chrome was startled when Tsuna offered her a piggyback. Strangers did not give each other piggyback rides, did they? So when they were going down the stairs, she was surprised that he took caution as he walked the stairs with her. She smiled to herself as she placed her head on his back.

"Are you doing okay back there?"

"Y-Yes."

Tsuna chuckled as he grinned to himself. "I know this is a bit late, but please take care of me, Chrome."

Chrome snuggled deeper into Tsuna's warmth and nodded. "Please take care of me as well, Tsuna-nii."

* * *

**EXTRA NOTES**:

I apologize if this was a lot to take in at one time. I was suddenly motivated to write this and just kept on writing for the entire day. I don't have a beta-reader for any of my stories, since I have no idea how the process works, so I try not to venture into that area or else I'm going to be more confused.

This is a 2796 fic, but it's entirely platonic. This is a genre I try not to dwell in, since drama and angst seems to be one of my much stronger points. I apologize if the beginning does not feel as realistic as it should seem because I tried to think from a child's point of view and how a child could change if they went through such experiences like Chrome.

I already know how I want to end up and have already planned everything out, so at least this story would be finished. Since my mind is so wrapped up in this story, it looks like I have to put the brakes on for my other stories.

I like to thank everyone who gave this story a chance. I hope I don't disappoint. I would love to hear what you guys have to say so please review and please look forward to the next chapter.


	2. Dawn II

_Fear clutched onto her feet and slowly crawled its way up her body as if it was holding her down so she could not run away from reality._

_She was cowering in the corner, shielding her face with her stuffed owl. She did not want the others to see her face stained with tears, since they would only further make fun of her. She let out a choked sob every now and then._

_Their words were like thorns she could not get rid of. The way how they use her brother's name only made it worse. Those words echoed loudly and she could not get rid of them even though she kept pushing the palms of her hands into her ears._

* * *

A disheveled head poked out from underneath the bed sheets. Chrome pulled them closer to her trembling body as she bit down on them, trying to not let her cries be heard. She stretched out her arm, searching for her stuffed animal. Her owl was firmly pressed against her body, but it did not comfort her like it did before.

Chrome was scared.

She was scared that these nice people would eventually reject her like the children at the orphanage did. She wanted to run away, but she would end up becoming a burden since her new family seemed to care about her.

Deep down, she knew the family she was adopted into consisted of kind people but she did not want to bother them with her problems. This was the fourth night in a single week that she had this recurring nightmare. Maybe she could talk to her brother about it.

She slowly got out of her bed, but then she thought that she would be a bother to ask him in the middle of the night. In her rush to get back on the bed, her legs got caught in the sheets, making her tumble onto the ground with a thump.

Chrome frantically tried to get back on her bed and make it seem like her fall never happened, but she lost her owl in the process. With her one eye, she started to crawl about on the ground with her arm waving about senselessly for her owl.

The door was suddenly opened, making Chrome jump in surprise. Before she could register who entered her room, a strong pair of arms scooped her up, making her yell in shock. Thinking the person was a thief, she started hitting the intruder with all her might. When she noticed her hits were ineffective, she started yanking at the intruder's hair.

"Chr– Ow! Chrome, it's me, Giotto!" The blond let out a sigh when the girl stopped pulling his hair.

"G-Giotto-san?" Chrome's eye widened before latching her small arms around Giotto's neck. "I-I'm sorry. I-I-I t-thought you were a thief a-and–" She started to cry and mumbled her apologies. She never wanted to hurt him.

Giotto sighed as he held the girl closer, rubbing circles into her back. "Shh… It's alright. I'm okay, Chrome."

The sound of feet pounding against the wooden floorboards could be heard before the door was slammed again. Tsuna's eyes darted back and forth in Chrome's room with a baseball bat held securely in hand. When his eyes landed on Chrome and his father, he let out a sigh of relief before kneeling on the ground. He honestly thought someone had entered the house.

Giotto looked down at the trembling girl in his arms. "Chrome, I'm sorry for scaring you."

Chrome shook her head against Giotto's chest but her trembling body said otherwise.

Tsuna dropped the bat to the side and laid spread out on the ground, trying to calm himself down from his adrenaline high.

Giotto bitterly smiled as he held her closer, trying to calm her down. However, his face soon brightened when he thought of something. "Chrome, how about you sleep with me and Tsuna tonight?"

"E-Eh?" Chrome looked at Giotto as if he was insane.

Tsuna lifted his head and then just dropped back onto the ground. When his father decided on something, there was no way Tsuna could reason him out of it. "I'll go get the extra pillows then." The brunet heaved himself off the ground and started to make way to the hallway closet.

Giotto chuckled as he made his way to his room with Chrome, clutching onto his clothes. "Chrome, do you know what I think about nightmares?"

"What?" Chrome could not see how having bad dreams be a good thing, but the smile on the blond's face made her confused. For one, they were scary and always left an icky feeling behind.

"When you have nightmares, you can always use that as an excuse to sleep with your favorite people." Giotto chuckled when he saw Chrome's puzzled face when he put her down on his bed. "How about I tell you a story? But I have to warn you, I'm not the best storyteller and it's not really a happy story."

Chrome hesitantly nodded as she watched Giotto lie next to her and supported his head on the palm of his hand, looking down at her.

"Once upon a time, there was a family of three, a father, a mother, and a son. They were a happy family, but one day, the mother died. The father was sad that he lost his love, but he had to be strong for his son. However, because he tried to keep a strong front, he ended up having nightmares of losing his son one day but he did not want to tell anyone. Out of nowhere, his son wanted to sleep with him one day. The father thought his son was still bothered by the loss of his mother and just let his son into his bed. The father had the nightmare again and woke up with his son hugging him, saying 'I'll never leave you.' Since then, the nightmare rarely returned. The father knew it was because he had his son by his side that nightmares did not seem as scary as before. From that day on–"

"From that day on, the father would latch onto his son every single night, almost choking him in his death grip. Said boy managed to escape the man's grasp. Now, the father has found a new victim, his newly adopted daughter. She does not know what she has gotten herself into, but the son will save her from his father's evil clutches."

Giotto shot his son a look while the brunet smirked. "That is not true."

"Yeah…" Tsuna rolled his eyes as he lied on the side of the bed unoccupied by his father. "Who was the one was kept on begging me to sleep with him even though I was and still am fourteen?"

Giotto started sputtering incoherent words. "I– I– I was lonely…"

Tsuna rolled his eyes as he pulled the sheets up to his neck. "Night, Papa. Night Chrome." He draped an arm around Chrome in a protective manner and drifted off to sleep.

Chrome silently giggled at the two's exchange and looked at Giotto. "Thank you for the story, Giotto-san. I think I know what you're trying to say." She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Tsuna for warmth.

Giotto looked down at the two children on his bed with a gentle smile. He settled down on the bed and glad that Chrome felt more at ease with him. He wondered if Chrome was going to be able to sleep comfortably tonight, but from the looks of it, he did not need to worry about it.

Giotto muttered a good night and draped his arm on top of both Chrome and Tsuna as if he was their shield.

* * *

A disheveled head popped out from beneath the comforter as a slight yawn escaped from the girl's mouth a she awkwardly sat up in the bed. She rubbed her good eye to rid of the haziness as she patted her hand around the bed, searching for her owl. When her fingers failed to find the familiar texture, Chrome realized where she was and shifted to her left and right to see if Giotto and Tsuna were still there.

To her surprise, they were not there. She scrambled off the bed and darted down the stairs. She grabbed onto the banister so she could catch herself if she slipped on one of the steps. She darted straight into the kitchen, because a sweet aroma from the kitchen was wafting through the living room. When she caught sight of the unruly brown hair, she sighed and took a step into the kitchen. "Tsuna-nii?"

The brunet looked up from his breakfast and was surprised to see Chrome awake so early. From what he could tell, she usually slept for an extra hour. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't find you or Giotto-san this morning, so I was scared…"

Tsuna smiled at his sister and went up and gave her a hug before ushering her up on a seat next to him. "Let me get you some breakfast before we go on an adventure today."

Chrome tilted her head in confusion. "But don't you have school today?" She could see that her brother was dressed in his school uniform.

Tsuna chuckled nervously as he placed Chrome's breakfast in front of her. "I guess I'm going to skip today. I'm sure no one would notice that I'm there except for my friends…" Tsuna's eyes landed on the clock sitting on the counter and they widened as he rushed out of the kitchen to the front door.

Chrome jumped off of her chair and followed her brother. There was urgency in his eyes. "Tsuna-nii…?" Chrome was surprised to see a male hanging onto her brother for dear life while another one was laughing off to the side.

"Look at that Hayato, Tsuna's not dead. He's just late."

"Shut up, you heartless idiot. And when did I give you permission to call me by my first name? Anyway, how would you know? There could have been a robber, or worse, a sociopath or a psychopath."

Tsuna groaned at his friend's exaggerated concern and resorted to pushing him off of him. "Hayato-kun, please get off of me. You're embarrassing me in front of Chrome."

The male immediately let go and noticed the small girl, looking at them with hesitation. "Damn, she's like a clone of Rokudo."

"Hayato-kun, please watch your language."

The silver-haired male stiffened at Tsuna's cold tone and nodded, quickly apologizing in the process.

Tsuna sighed and ushered Chrome to his side. "Chrome, these are my best friends. The one who hugged me is Gokudera Hayato and the one over there is Yamamoto Takeshi."

Chrome bowed politely and whispered a hello.

Takeshi knelt down in front of Chrome and ruffled her locks."She's cute, Tsuna."

Hayato awkwardly muttered in agreement. "So are you ready to go to school, Tsuna?"

Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck, looking apologetic. "I was thinking of skipping today. I was going to take Chrome to visit my dad."

Hayato sighed in defeat when he saw that face while Takeshi laughed.

"Tsuna, are you sure that's a good idea? Won't Alaude-san try to arrest you for skipping school?" reasoned Takeshi.

Tsuna shrugged. "Probably, but I don't think he'll toss me into a jail cell again."

Chrome's eye widened. "You went to jail, Tsuna-nii?"

Tsuna nervously laughed when he cast her a shy look. "Yeah… over a year ago…"

The small girl could only stare at the brunet. How could someone like him end up in jail? Surely, it must have been a misunderstanding.

Takeshi looked at the clock hanging on the wall and tugged on Hayato by his collar. "Well, I hope you guys have fun today. Tell me all about it tomorrow, Tsuna. Have fun, Chrome."

Hayato pulled himself away from Takeshi, who merely shrugged with a smile on his face. "Well, I bid you good day. Just be careful, Tsuna. I'll take notes for you and make sure you're excused. Hayato analyzed Chrome from to head to toe before nodding with a content expression on his face. " You may look like Rokudo, but I expect you to be a good sister to Tsuna, so be safe." Hayato knelt down and pat Chrome on the head before leaving through the front door.

Chrome just stared at the front door as Tsuna closed it. "Tsuna-nii?"

"Hm?"

"You have weird friends."

Tsuna nervously chuckled as he led them back to the kitchen. "I know…"

"…but they seem like nice people."

* * *

**EXTRA NOTES:**

Ah, this was such an awkward chapter to write. So awkward. I can only imagine these things happening, so I can't really convey my intentions properly. Anyway, thank you for reviewing the first chapter. I was surprised to get such a response. My writing has gone downhill, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It'll be nice to hear what you had to say. Please look forward to the next chapter.

Hahaha... Red String is the next story to be updated. Seriously, that story is a monster to tackle.


End file.
